Method of cleaning magazines and matrices



May5, 1931. H. R. FREUND HETHODOF CLEANING MAGAZINES AND IATRICES 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Fil ed Nov. 22, 1928 May 5, 1931-. H. R. FREUND IETHOD OFCLEANING MAGAZINES AND IATRICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 22. 1928IIIIIIIIIIIII Patented May 5, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICEY' EEBMANR. FREUND, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO INTEBTYPE CORPORA- TION,OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF YORK METHOD or cLEAmne MAGAzINEs amMATRICES Application filed November. 22, 1928. Serial No. 321,146.

The present invention relates toimprovements in the method of removingdirt or of the general class shown. and described in Letters Patent No.436,532 granted September 16, 1890 to O. Mergenthaler.

Experience has shown that the matrices and also the guiding channelstherefor within the magazines of machines of this class accumulate dirt,grease and other foreign matter and also become tarnished or corrodedincident to the use of such machines, and such accumulations of forei nmatter and tarnish tend to clog or to 0 er undue frictional resistanceto the descent of the matrices by gravity through the magazines whichare usually inclined downwardly and forwardly to their matrix deliveryend, and hence the matrices and also the guiding channels thereforwithin the magazine require cleaning periodically to remove suchaccumulations and tarnish in order to insure smooth or uninterruptedpassage of the matrices through the magazine and to efiect prompt andcertain delivery of the matrices therefrom under control of the usualkeyboard-actuated escapements.

It has been a common practice, prior to the presentinvention, tocleanthe matrices by removing themfrom their magazines and placing themin a machine which subjected them to the action of a liquid cleaner orto the abrasive action of brushes, felt or rubber, and to clean themagazines by 'assing a specially designed brush up and own through whichwas rendered necessary by such' methods, the inability of such methodsto thoroughly clean .the .matrices and magazines, especially'the matrixchannels in the magazines'which tend to accumulate dirt, grease, tarnishand other obstructing matter atthe intervals in their lengthcorresponding with the positions of the matrices when they are at resttherein, and because of other reasons.

The present invention provides a novel and improved method whereby thematrices and the magazines may be cleaned thoroughly and simultaneouslyand whilethe matrices are containedin their magazines, thus avoiding thenecessity of removing the matrices from their magazines and replacingthem therein and thereby saving much time and labor.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatusembodying the present invention and suitable for use in carrying out theimproved cleaning method, portions of the apparatus in this figure beingshown broken awayto illustrate certain details of its interiorconstruction;

Fig. 2 represents a vertical section taken through the apparatus shownin Fig. 1 on the line 22 therein and looking in the direction of thearrows, certain parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a top plani view, partly broken away, of another form-ofapparatus adapt ed to be used in carrying out the present 1nvention; 1 y

Fig. 4 represents avertical section taken on the line 4;4 in Fig. 3 andlooking in the direction of the arrows therein;

Fig. 5 represents a section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 5-5of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 6 represents asection on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 36 ofFig. 3and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Similar parts are designated 'by the same reference characters inthedifferent figures of the drawings.

In these drawings, M represents a matrix magazine of the kind commonlyusedm machines of the class hereinbefore referred to these magazinesbeing usually composed 0t opposed plates m of metal, usually brass,which are spaced apart a distance'equal to. the width of the bodies ofthe brass or metal matrices m and are formed on their inner sides withgrooves in which the lugs m on the four corners of the matrices slideortravel, the magazines being usually located in the machine so thatthey are inclined in a forward and downward direction so that thematrices will travel by gravity from the up per to the lower deliveryend of the maga-.

zinc, and the'delivery of the matrices at the lower end of the magazineand from the respective matrix-guiding channels therein is controlled byan escapement E one of which is provided for each matrix-guidingchannel, as is well understood by those skilled in this art. I

It will also be understood that in magazines of this class containing afull supply of matrices, the opposite or upper and lower ends of themagazine are open so that passageways are formed throughout the lengththe casing being composed of sheet metal or other suitable material" andhaving a top member 5 having openings 6 and 7 therein through which thetanks '1 and 2 may be introduced, these tanks being supported on the topmember 5 by flanges 8 which project outwardly from their upper ends andrest on the top member 5. The drying tank or compartment 3 may be formedas a part of the space enclosed by the casing 4, it being divided offfrom the remainder of the space within said casing by a verticalpartition9,

and the tanks 1 and 2 are also preferably contained in separatecompartments within the casing 4, these compartments being separated bya vertical partition 10 which ex- 7 tends across the interior of thecasing 4.

The casing 4 preferably rests on and is attached to a base 11 whichprovides combustion chambers for gas or other suitable burners 12, oneof these burners being arranged beneath each of the tanks 1, 2 and 3 soas to supply heat thereto, and each of the burners may be provided withan individual gas or fuel control cock 12 to regulate the temperature ineach tank. The base is provided with openings 13 therein to admit air tothe burners to support combustion and to set up a circulation of heatwithin the compartments in the casing 4, the partitions 9 and 10 havingopenings 14 and 15 therein which establish communication between thecompartments for the circulation of heated air or gases between thecompartments, and the upper portion of the outer wall of the casing 4 isprovided with suitably arranged openings 16 for the escape of productsof combustion.

One of the tanks, for example the tank 1, is adapted to contain anysuitable well known cleaning solution such as'chromic acid and water,soda and Water or a benzol or other hydrocarbon liquid, and another ofthe tanks, for example the tank 2 is adapted to contain a washing liquidwhich may consist of clear water, the liquids in these tanks beingheated preferably to boiling temperature to effect thorough andefficient cleaning and washing of the magazines and the matrices thereinby heat produced by their burners, and the remaining burner serves toheat the drying tank or compartment 3 to effect drying of a magazine andmatrices therein when placed in suchtank or compartment, the bottom ofthe latter being preferably separated fromthe burner chamber by aperforated plate or a similar grid 17.

The tanks 1 and 2, containing the cleaning and washing liquidsrespectively, are provided with means to suspend therein a magazinecontaining matrices and to cause the cleaning or washing solution toflow relatively to the magazine and the matrices therein, in a directionlongitudinally of the magazine. As shown in this embodiment of theinvention, such means comprises shafts 18 one of which extends acrossthe top of each ofthe tanks 1 and 2 and is journalled at its ends inbearings 19 which are mounted on the top member 5, the intermediateportion of the shaft in each instance being provided with a crank oreccentric part 20, and anend of each shaft 18 being provided with asprocket wheel 21-which may be connected by a sprocket chain to anelectric motor or other means for revolving these shafts continuouslyand at a relatively slow speed. A rack or frame 22 is provided 'to' holdeach magazine while it is suspendedin one or another of the tanks 1, 2or 3, this rack comprising vertical strips.

23 of metal or other suitable material which are adapted to lievertically against one flat side of the magazine, the lower ends ofthese strips beingbent laterally as at 24 to support a bar or strip 25which overliesthem and is adapted to extend beneath the lower end of amagazine to support the latter and also prevent the escape of anymatrices which might be accidentally released by their escapements, theends of this strip 25 being preferably upturned as at 26 to engage theop osite edges of the magazine and thus center t e magazine edgewiseonthe rack 22 and prevent its displacement therefrom, and the intermediateportion of the strip 25 being provided with a suitable number ofperforations 25' through which the cleanin or washing liquid may flowfreely into an I out of the lower end of the magazine. The upper ends-ofthe strips 23 of the rack are bent over 'to- .formand to hang upon thecrank or eccentric part 20 of one or the other of the shafts 18, and

' the free end of this hook is extended to form a handle 28 by means ofwhich the rack and a magazine thereon may be lowered into a tank orlifted therefrom. A catch 29 is preferably provided on each of thestrips 23 to prevent tipping of the upperend of the magazine out of therack, each catch comprising an arm which is pivoted to the respectivestrip 23 as at 30 so that it may be swung to and from a position whichoverlies the upper end of the magazine, and a coil spring 31 maybeapplied around the pivot 30 to act frictionally on the arm of the catchand thereby hold it either in magazine retaining position or in releasedposition. The magazine may be readily placed in or removed from the rackwhile the catches 29 are swung upwardly, and while the magazine iscontained in the rack it is retained therein by swinging the catches 29downwardly or into the position shown in Fig. 2.

When amagazineis mounted in a rack 22, the upper end of the magazine isopen or unobstructed and the lower end of the magazine is substantiallyopen or unobstructed by the perforated strip 25 on which it rests. Inpractice, the tank 1 is filled with the cleaning liquid and the tank 2is filled with clear water or washing liquid up to substantially thelevel indicated by the line a, b and relatively slow rotation impartedto the shafts 18 while magazines are suspended on the crank portions 20thereof. The racks 22 will cause the magazines to be raised and loweredand to be swung laterally in the respective tanks while the magazinesare submerged completely, for a part of the time at least, in theliquids contained in the respective tanks, the upper endof each magazineswinging in substantially a circle the radius of which is substantiallyequal to the eccentricity of, the crank portion 20 with respect to itsshaft 18 while the lower end of the magazine will have mainly avertically reciprocatory movement, lateral swinging of the lower end ofthe magazine being damped or retarded by the liquid to which theopposite sides of the magazines are exposed, so that the movement of themagazine will be substantially oblique to its length. The dryingcompartment 3 is provlded with a straight shaft or bar 32 which extendsacross its top, this shaft or bar being adapted to receive the hooks 27on the upper end of each of the magazine racks and to thus support amagazine and its rack vertically in the compartment 3.

In carrying out the invention with an apparatus such as that justdescribed, a matrix containing magazine which is to be cleaned isinserted in a rack 22 and the rack is suspended by the hooks 27 thereonupon the crank portion20 of the shaft 18 which overlies the tank 1, itbeing assumed that this tank has been supplied with a sutficientquantity of cleaning liquid and that the burner is in operation to heatthis liquid to the boiling point and that the shaft 18 is revolving at aspeed which will not be suflicient to cause endwise shifting of thematrices in the magazine so that they will strike against theirescapements but will produce some lateral edgewise movement of thematrices between the opposed plates of the magazine. The magazinesubmerged in the cleaning liquid in the tank 1 will be filled interiorlywith the cleaning liquid the boiling of which causes it to flowvertically therein, and the vertical and lateral or oblique movementsimparted tothe magazine 'by the rotating shaft will cause a relativeback and forth movement to take place between the magazine and thecleaning liquid in a direction longitudinally of the interior spacewithin the magazine and will thereby produce a back and forth scrubbingaction of the cleaning liquid upon the'matrix guiding channels withinthe magazine and the lugs or ears on the matrices which engage in thesechannels, thereby removin dirt, grease, tarnish or corrosion or otheroreignmatter that may have accumu lated on the walls of the grooves orupon the lugs or ears of the matrices, and the lateral motion impartedto the magazine will cause edgewise shiftin of the matrices within'themagazine where y the lugs or ears of the matrices will rub against thewalls of 'the grooves in the magazine, this relative motion between thematrices and the magazine assisting in dislodging any dirt, grease orother foreign matter that may have accumulated so that it may be removedby the cleaning liquid.

After the magazine has been thus treated in the cleaning liquid in thetank 1 for. a period a of about five or ten minutes, the magazlne andits rack islifted out of the tank 1 and inserted into the washing liquidboiling iii the tank 2, the hooks 27 on the rack 22 being engaged withthe crank portion of the shaft 18- which overlies the top of this tank,and the ro-. tation of the shaft abovethis tank will cause the magazinesuspended therefrom to move vertically and laterally or-to oscillateoblique ly so that a' relative movement will be produced between themagazine and the washing liquid in a direction longitudinally and. ob-

liquely to the length of the magazine whereby the washing liquid willexert a scrubbing action upon the walls of the matrixiding channels inthe magazine and upon this matrices to remove any dirt, grease or otherforremain on the surfaces of the magazine or t matrices, and the washingaction will be 'assisted by the slight lateral agitation; ordisplacement of the matrices within'the magazine, due to the lateralmovement of the magazines while reciprocating vertically.

eign matter that may still adhere thereto as well as toremove anycleaning liquid that may After the magazine has been treated in thewashing tank 2 for about 5 minutes it and its rack are removed from thetank 2 and placed in the drying compartment 3, it being suspendedvertically thereinby engaging the hooks 27 of the rack 22 on thestraight shaft or rod 32. The magazine will hang substantially centrallywithin the drying chamber 3 so that spaces will be left at its oppositesides, and the perforated plate or grid 17 will be heated practicallyred hot by the burner 12. The heated air or gas passing through orrising from the plate 17 will not only pass up along the outer sides ofthe magazine to efiect drying of its exterior surfaces but will alsofiow upwardly through the interior of the magazines thereby drying anywashing liquid that may remain therein, either upon the interiorsurfaces of the magazine or upon the matrices. The drying action isgreatly facilitated by the circulation of hot air from the burnercompartment through the perforations in the plate or grid 17 and upthrough the drying compartment 3, and the drying of the magazine and thematrices is further facilitated by the hot condition of the magazine andthe matrices immediately after the fas magazine has been removed fromthe hot washing liquid. It will be understood that in carrying out theinvention in an apparatus such as that just described,- each of thetanks 1 and 2 and also-the compartment 3 may c011-v tain a magazineunder treatment at the same time, each magazine removed from one tank orfrom the drying chamber 3 being replaced by another magazine to betreated therein, so that a cleaning operation may be taking place in thetank 1, a washing operation in the tank '2 and a drying o eration in thedrying chamber 3 concurrent y.

Figures 3 to 6 inclusive show another form of cleaning apparatus whichmay be used instead of the tank 1 for cleaning the magazine and thematrices therein, this form of cleaning apparatus enabling the entiremagazine and the matrices contained therein to be rotated while immersedor submerged in a cleaning liquid, and after the magazine and itsmatrices have been thus submitted to a cleaning operation, they may beplaced in a tank like the tank 2 and washed in the manner hereinbeforedescribed, and then placed in a drying chamber like the chamber 3 anddried in 'the manner hereinbefore described.

The :cleaning apparatus as shown in Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive comprises atank 33 which is of a size to receive the usual standard magazinetogether with the matrices contained therein,

this tank being supported at its opposite narrow sides by horizontaltrunnions 34 which rotate in bearings 35 in the upper ends of standards36 the latter being mounted in stationary position upon a floor or othersupport.

One of the trunnions has a s rocket wheel 37 preferably closedpermanently and has a strip of wood or other relatively yieldablematerial 38 secured to it, the inner edge of this strip being formedwith a rib 39 which is adapted to enter the lower end of the magazine inthe space thereof between the top and bottom plates m, as is shown inFig. 6, the innermost edge of this rib preferably projecting into themagazine sufficiently far 'to dislodge the lowermost matrices from theirescapements E, substantially as is shown in Fig. 6, so that the rib 39will withstand the impact due to the dropping of the matrices towardthat end of the magazine, when the latter is brought into loweredposition, thereby relievin the escapements E from the impact 0 thematrices. The strip 38 also abuts against this end of the magazine andthereby prevents endwise shift. of the magazine toward the closed end ofthe tank 33, but it is slotted to provide passages 40 through whichcleaning liquid contained in the tank may flow into and out of theinterior of the magazine. The opposite end of the tank is provided witha removable cover or head 41 which may be detachably connected tothat-end of the tank 33 which is open and provides for the insertionandremoval of the magazine, clamping bolts 42 being shown in the presentinstance for securing the cover or head 41 in place and to form a fluidtight fit against the flange 43 which surrounds the open end of thetank. The cover or head 41 is provided with a pair of angle irons 44which are fixed to its inner side, and these angle irons are spacedapart a distance suflicient to receive and hold between them a strip ofleather or other suitable matrices toward the upper or wider end of Ythe magazine whenthis' end of the magazine the center of the trunnions34 as an axis, damage to the matrices being thereby avoided. The strip45. is sufliciently thin to provide spaces at its sides for the flow ofthe cleaning liquid into and out of this end of the magazine. Spacingstrips or ribs '46 are preferably provided at the inner sides of thetank to engage the top and bottom plates of the magazine and therebycenter it in a direction transversely of the tank, and thesestrips willguide the lower end of the magazine into engagementwith the lower rib 39during insertion of the magazine into the tank.

In carrying out the cleaning operation with an apparatus such as thatjust described,

the magazine to be cleaned containing the matrices which are also to becleaned,.is lowered into the tank 33 while the latter is at rest, andits open end isuppermost and the cover or head 41 isremoVed, themagazine being lowered edgewise between the strips 46 until the lowerend of the magazine is engaged on the ribbed edge 39 of the strip 38which will extend across the full width of the lower end of the magazineand will project into it a distance suflicient to engage the lowermostmatrices and to push them back slightly from their escapements, andassuming the tank 33 has been filled to a suitable extent with asuitable cleaning liquid which preferably has been pre-heated, the coveror head 41 is applied to the tank 33 to close it, the inturned flangesof the angle irons 44 being adjacent to the upper wider end of themagazine and the leather or similar strip 45 being thereby brought intoa position within this end of the magazine where it will catch thematrices as they. drop toward this end of the magazine during rotationof the latter, Fig. 5 showing the manner in which the angle irons 4.4:and the matrix arresting strip 45 are positioned at this end of themagazine. After the magazine containing the matrices has been thusintroduced into the tank andthe latter tightly closed, the tankcontaining the magazine is slowly revolved or rotated about thehorizontal axis of the trunnions 34;. Such rotation of the magazine andthe matrices contained therein will cause the cleaning fluid to willcause a frictional rubbing of the matrices alternately against thematrix-guiding channels in the top and bottom plates of the magazine,due to the successive inversions of the magazine and its containedmatrices, and this rubbing action w1ll effectively dislodge or removeany dirt, grease, tarmsh or corroslon or other foreign matter that mayhave accumulated either on the surfaces of the magazine which areengaged by the matrices or upon the matrices, and the flow of thecleaning liquid or solution substantially longitudinally within themagazine will produce a scouring action which will further clean andwash away any foreign matter present. The

sliding movement of the matrices is particularly efiective in removingdirt or grease from the matrix guiding channels in the magazine as thedirt or grease tends to accumulate in areas which are spaced apart in.the length of the matrix-guiding channels at intervals corresponding tothe length of the matrices, and the sliding motion of the matricesserves to effectively remove such accumulation of foreign matter. Thecleaning solution used in the rotatable tank 33 may be one of thosehereinbefore mentioned or any other suitable cleaning liquid and thecleaning liquid may be used either hot or cold. Endwise movement of thematrices within the magazine during its'rotation is insured, as themagazines are never completely filled with matrices from top to bottom,there being suflicient space in all of the matrix channels to permit thematrices therein to move lengthwise. 1

In both embodiments of the invention hereinbe-fore described, themagazine and the matrices belonging therein are cleaned as a unit,thereby avoiding the labor and delay occasioned by removing the matricesfrom the. magazine, cleaning the matrices'or the magazine, or both,separately and then returning the matrices to their proper channels inthe magazine.-

Further, in both embodiments described,

thorough and rapid cleaning of the matrices and magazines isaccomplished by the relative flow between the cleaning liquid and themagazine and matrices ina direction substantially longitudinally withinthe matrix containing chamber of the magazine, aided by relativemovement between the matrices and the magazine produced by the movementimparted to the latter, such relative. movement of the matricesproducing a rubbing or abrading action betweenthe matrices and the wallsor surfaces of the magazine which they engage which will dislodge orwear away any accumulations of dirt, grease or other foreign matter thattend to collect at the points where the matrices normally rest in themagazine, the matter thus dislodged being washed away by thelongitudinally flowing cleaning liquid.

It is preferable to employ the cleaning liquid while hot, in bothembodiments, as the cleaning liquid is then able to act more readily onthe dirt, grease or other foreign matter, and in the embodimentrepresented by Figs. 1 and 2, the boiling ofthe cleaning liquid causesit to flow or circulate longitudinally through the interior of themagazine and past the matrices contained therein, the consequentfrictional action of the liquid tending to remove and carry away thedirt or foreign matter, but the cleaning liquid may be used cold orwithout heating in carrying out the invention with a magazine rotatingmeans such as that shown in Figs. 3 and 4, since the range oflongitudinal sliding movement of the matrices will produce a rubbingaction which will be sufficient to insure the removal of the dirt orforeign matter, especially in the presence of the cleaning liquid.

The oscillatory movement imparted to the magazine and the matricescontained therein while in the washing tank will quickly and thoroughlyremove any dirt or other foreign matter and also any cleaning liquidthat might remain after the magazine and the matrices therein have beentreated in the cleaning tank, such movement causing a relative movementof the washing liquid in a direction longitudinally within the interiorof the magazine and this agitation of the wash ing liquid will insurecomplete removal of the dirt or foreign matter it being aided by therubbing action produced betwen the matrices and the magazine by thelateral edgewise moiements of the matrices relatively to the magazineresulting from the oscillatory movements imparted to the magazine duringthe washing operation.

The drying of the magazine and the matrices therein will be rapid andcomplete, since the magazine and the matrices will occupy vertical orupright position during the drying operation so that any liquid adheringthereto will drain therefrom, and the metal composing the magazine andmatrices will be hot when placed in the drying tank or chamber, due tothe heating thereof incident to the hot washing treatment, so thatmoisture will tend to evaporate quickly from these metal surfaces.Moreover, the current of hot air which is caused to fiow from the bottomto and through the top of the drying tank or chamber, part of which hotair passes upwardly through the interior of the magazine and between andpast the rows ofmatrices therein quickly takes up and carries away anyremainin moisture, so that the magazine and the matrices containedtherein will be coming liquid, and movin the magazine and its containedmatrices, w ile immersed in said cleaning liquid, in a direction tocause relative movement of the cleaning liquid longitudinally within thematrix containing chamber of the magazine and to also cause relativemovement between the matrices and the 3. The method of cleaning themagazin gazine.

my hand.

HERMAN R. FREUND.

